I think I would stop off at Wal-Mart and see if they have any RV Antifreeze left. I would just put some in any drains that might have sitting water. Really depends on how long it will stay cold. If only a few days then I would flush a gallon or so in the toilet. If the water tank is not empty, I would empty it out. Pour a bit of the antifreeze in the galley sink drain, then close the through hull and put a bit more to make sure any water in the line is diluted. Close all through hulls and fill lines leading to them with anti freeze. If you have access to the strainer fill it up too. For a few day cold snap smaller bits of water are what you are going to be concerned about Scuppers too, and if you have a wet bilge I would put some in there as well. I would try to drain out most of the raw water from the cooling loop and replace with antifreeze. I don't think you have to worry about getting it completely drained as it will not be that cold inside the boat, the water temp will likely stay above freezing so a slightly dilute solution should be ok.

Thanks for all the relies. I think I will be okay. The water temp is 50F right now and although it will be much, much colder tomorrow I will be okay. Everything in the boat is dry and I drained the hot section so should be fine. Last year when is was almost as cold a guy near me said the water in the bilge was still 42F and the water outside was the same. I appreciate all of the good advice. It is something I have worried about quite a bit.

What about using a small propane heater in the boat, with a bar-b-que sized (20#) tank? There would be extra condensation but the boat would stay warm.

(Don't do without a CO detector!)

I've heard of someone using his onboard oven for days at a time in cold weather -- and getting free baked potatos in the process. It seems the overn burns propane better without creating a lot of CO, better that then burners on the stove.

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